Đurđa "Đurđica" Bjedov (born 5 April 1947) is a retired Croatian

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and the only Yugoslav Olympic champion in swimming. Bjedov never won a medal at major international competitions, except for the 1968 Olympics, where she finished first in the 100 m

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

, breaking the Olympic record, and second in the 200 m breaststroke. Her medley relay team was disqualified in the preliminaries though because she jumped into water too early. Later that year she was selected as the Yugoslav Athlete of the Year. After retiring from competitions Bjedov worked as a swimming coach and raised her daughter

Anamarija Petričević Anamarija Petričević (born 23 August 1972) is a retired Croatian swimmer. Anamarija Petričević is a daughter of Đurđica Bjedov, gold and silver medalist in swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Petričević competed for Socialist Federal ...

to become an Olympic swimmer. They both now live in

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

.SLOBODNA DALMACIJA, ČETVRTAK 30. prosinca 1999. – sport: SAMO ĐUKE NEMA ALTERNATIVE
Arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr (29 December 1999). Retrieved on 2016-04-23. Bjedov is the only Yugoslav swimmer inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

References

1947 births Living people Female breaststroke swimmers Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Yugoslav female swimmers Swimmers from Split, Croatia Olympic swimmers for Yugoslavia Croatian female swimmers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Sportspeople from Locarno Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games silver medalists for Yugoslavia FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade {{Yugoslavia-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References